What is the study of the natural world, how our environment affects us, and how we affect our environment?

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Interdisciplinary study of the environment and human interactions examines how the natural world works, how our environment affects us, and how our actions change the environment. Environmental science brings together biology, chemistry, geology, and social sciences to understand environmental problems and develop practical solutions. It looks at the whole system—how energy flows, how pollutants move, how policy and behavior influence ecosystems, and how to sustain resources for people and other life. Ecology focuses on relationships among organisms and their surroundings, but it doesn’t always include the human dimension or the problem-solving approaches central to environmental science. Biology centers on living organisms and their life processes, not the broader environment. Geography emphasizes spatial patterns and landscapes, not the integrated study of human–environment interactions and their management. So the best fit is environmental science.